Doctor Who’s 50th: Doctors 10 and 11

The last two doctors, for now, the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor are probably the most responsible for reinvigorating interest in the Doctor Who fanbase for the current generation. While Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth garnered enough interest to keep people coming back, it was David Tennant who solidified the staying power of The Doctor not just amongst British viewers, but also the growing and thriving American fanbase that rallied around Tennant as “their” Doctor. While Tennant was only a couple years short of Tom Baker’s lengthy run, his presence seemed to last longer due to extensive hiatuses by the BBC and the wait time for BBC affiliates around the world to air not just the series but the four one-hour special episodes that were marketed as a whole series. Tennant’s Tenth Doctor was still recovering from the Time War like his previous self, but he slowly began to recover, garnering a large family of companions – all of who left him or had their lives turned topsy-turvy because of him.

When Matt Smith took over the role as the Eleventh Doctor, there was some initial fan backlash since Tennant had made such an impact on the fan base. At the age of 28, Smith was officially the youngest actor to play the Doctor, even though he was playing the oldest version. And it’s a testament to Smith acting prowess that made him win over fans quickly with his fidgety and decidedly more alien take on the Doctor. Under showrunner Steven Moffat, who’d taken over after Russell T. Davies left the show upon Tennant’s exit, the Eleventh Doctor was as much a figure of fairy tales and legend as he was a bombastic warrior ready to lay waste to any who would oppose him.